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Sri Lankans protest false charges and torture in UN funded Maldive jail Maldives Culture special report from the Sri Lankan press 2003
Maafushi island is 75 km south of Malé, the capital of Maldives. This jail is maintained by funds received from the United Nations. US$9 is paid for each prisoner, and these payments have become a lucrative source of income for the Maldive government. The jail building were originally designed for storing dried Maldive fish, and is now being used as a profitable place to imprison human beings. False charges Over 2000 of the people incarcerated in Maafushi island are expatriate workers from Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Kenya, Philippines and China. Comparatively few of the prisoners are Maldivians. Only the Maldive immigration authorities are privy to the charges against these expatriates. 41 young Sri Lankan men have been charged on various counts such as use and possession of drugs, murder and sexual crimes.
However, they were originally taken into custody on minor offences such as disputes with employers over unpaid salaries, drinking alcohol, visa overstaying, playing cards, and taking a banana without prior payment. It is difficult to understand how these minor offences were converted into the more serious offences they are now charged with. One Sri Lankan who went to Maldives as a food and beverages manager, was jailed for overstaying his visa but now finds himself charged with drug possession. Another Sri Lankan who went to Maldives as a computer instructor, was arrested on suspicion of sabotage and sent to the torture camp at Maafushi. A civil engineer was charged with sexual abuse, and another Sri Lankan national was arrested for drug possession the day he arrived. Court decisions are delivered according to the whims and fancies of the Maldive police. Magistrates are expected to authenticate decisions already made, by adding their signature at the court house. There is no trial or presentation of evidence in Maldives. Authorities do their best to ensure that people are jailed in Maafushi on bogus charges. Promotion for police and immigration officials is dependent on them taking people into custody for minor offences. Things have reached a low level when the police have to harass people and obtain signatures for imagined crimes. Police gimmick People arrested on minor offences are detained for about two weeks in a place called the 'Welfare Jail' where they are subjected to interrogation and forced to sign charge sheets. Prisoners are harangued into thinking they will be released if they sign. The only prisoners who refuse to sign are those who understand the real intentions of the police and despise the idea of admitting offences they have not committed. Those naive prisoners who trust the Maldive police, pave their own paths to hell. In Maafushi, there are Sri Lankan workers serving 5,10, 15, and 20 years to life imprisonment on bogus charges. The so-called 'suspects' who refuse to sign the charge sheets for the police, are transferred into the hands of investigation officers. These policemen also try and make them sign the charge sheets, but they use different methods. Now the 'suspects' are held in a place called the 'Investigation Jail' where they have luxury facilities and receive excellent food. Here they are asked to sign their charge sheets, and given the false impression they will be released immediately. If they still refuse to sign, the police use inhuman tortures on them. They are ordered to do somersaults with their right leg manacled to their hands. People who become exhausted and faint, are dipped in the sea. This can continue for up to 45 days. Even an animal cannot bear this sort of treatment. The young Sri Lankans in Maafushi prison are those who believed the fraudulent words of the Maldive police, or those who signed charge sheets because the harassment became unbearable. One prisoner whose was jailed for 25 years, had been tortured for about twenty-five days, and when he still refused to sign, the Maldive demons in police uniforms placed his finger mark on the document by force. Sri Lankans have also signed charge sheets they don't understand which were written in Dhivehi thaana script by Maldive officials and police. Maafushi incarceration camp This jail consists of several buildings not more than 10 feet wide, covered with corrugated iron sheets. The cells have been partitioned with iron to accomodate the 110 prisoners who are compelled to sleep on the inadequate concrete benches. The prisoners are given only a cup of rice with a piece of boiled fish and soup called 'garudhiya'. Four litres of water are provided for washing and drinking each day. There are only three lavatories, one of the cubicles has no doors. To relieve themselves, prisoners have to line up and get permission from the police who are guarding the camp with automatic guns and clubs in their hands like virtual demons. During night hours, prisoners seeking permission to use the toilet, are inhumanly refused until they soil their clothes. For a prisoner to raise his head while lying in bed, is a punishable offence. Trying to engage in physical exercise is a serious offence for which they will be tortured for days. If they are detected out of line at meal times, they are chained together. In some cases, ten prisoners or more are chained together and locked up in dingy rooms without proper ventilation. During the day, prisoners are battered by the burning heat of the sun, and during the night, cells are ablaze with halogen lights. As a result, many prisoners are suffering from eye diseases for which there is no available treatment. Those who are afflicted with numerous diseases are taken out of jail. Their whereabouts are unknown. Among the Sri Lankans are two people suffering from hepatitis B and acute renal failure. Two Indian prisoners have already been killed by these police murderers and several prisoners have committed suicide in the face of inhuman treatment. Maldive NSS personnel have stolen money and other valuables from Sri Lankan workers. Making complaints against them is akin to strangling one's own neck. They are openly violating fundamental human rights. Australian and Russian examples On separate occasions, the Maldive police and immigration authorities laid a trap for Australian and Russian expatriates. The Australian High Commissioner in Colombo intervened and saved the expatriates, and the Maldive government received a serious warning. The Russian authorities arrived in a warship and anchored on the high seas and asked for their people. The Maldive police were frightened, and immediately handed over the Russian prisoners. Several Sri Lankan workers who did not fall for the Maldive police's confidence tricks, returned to Sri Lanka. They had been subjected to around 45 days of punishment, and they revealed the pathetic plight of the innocent people held in Maafushi island on bogus charges. Banquet It is ironic that bigwigs from our government and foreign missions, who take part in official trips abroad, do not look into the plight of their own citizens. While these bigwigs were being treated to the best food and fare that Malé could offer, Sri Lankans in Maafushi were being ridden roughshod by demons. Our officials did not show any awareness of the issue. Battle to free the prisoners The parents and relations of these unfortunate prisoners have 'declared war' in the battle to get them released. A demonstration, in support of the Maafushi prisoners, was held near the Fort railway station in Colombo. People gathered opposite the Maldive embassy to request diplomatic officials to bring their relatives back to Sri Lanka. Can the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Maldives, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Foreign Employment Bureau and the Ministry of Labour and the government of Sri Lanka, all continue to turn a blind eye to the law of the jungle prevailing in Maldives. |
Maldives Culture is an independent internet magazine of Maldivian cultural issues.
Editors and translators: Michael O'Shea and Fareesha Abdulla, Australia
We invite contributions from Maldivians and others interested in Maldives.
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